Hair waving devices



June 2, 1970 M. LAUGHTON 3,515,152

HAIR WAVING DEVICES Filed Jan. 18, 1968 IN VEN TOR MHLQOL/n LHUG/JTM I z'r-ro/z/uzy United States Patent 3,515,152 HAIR WAVING DEVICES Malcolm Laughton, Birmingham, England, assignor to Lady Jayne (Hair Products) Limited, Birmingham, England, a British company Filed Jan. 18, 1968, Ser. No. 698,912 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Jan. 27, 1967, 4,101/ 67 Int. Cl. A45d 4/14 US. Cl. 132-33 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A process of manufacturing a hair waving roller of the kind comprising a closed tubular receptacle containing a heat storing charge which on heating from normal atmospheric temperature to a higher temperature, undergoes a phase change from solid to liquid and the particular method of sealing the end of the receptacle by moulding an end cap of synthetic resin over a plug located in the end of the receptacle.

BackgroundField of the invention This invention relates to devices or rollers for hair waving of the kind comprising a closed tubular receptacle containing a charge which on heating from normal atmospheric temperature to a higher temperature, usually less than 100 C., undergoes a phase change, usually from solid to liquid. Such devices or rollers are hereinafter referred to as the kind described." The substance used for the charge preferably has a high specific heat and a high latent heat of fusion or vapourisation. On cooling, the roller is able to give out heat for a sufiicient length of time for hair waving. In particular, during the phase-change of the charge the temperature of the roller remains substantially constant for an appreciable period.

BackgroundDescription of the prior art It is known to provide hair waving rollers which comprise a cylindrical chamber forming the body of the roller such prior devices usually containing a charge of heat storing substance. In the known devices it is usual to fill the chamber through a small hole in one end which is later sealed by fusion of the surrounding material. Such methods of filling and sealing are not always easily or conveniently performed especially where the charge is a solid material.

Summary of the invention The purpose of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacture which allows a quick and easy method of charging the roller and provide an efficient and safe seal over the aperture through which the charge is inserted.

The charge may be parafiin wax pre-moulded inthe form of a slug of suitable dimensions to be readily inserted into the receptacle. The synthetic resins from which the receptacle, plug and end cap are made must be capable of withstanding boiling in Water and, although preferably all identical, they should at least be compatible with one another and be capable of satisfactory sealing the open end of the receptacle when the end cap is moulded-on. A suitable synthetic resin is polypropylene.

The plug preferably has a short tubular skirt and a somewhat domed outer end surface whose edge projects slightly beyond the skirt as a peripheral flange. The open end of the receptacle is slightly larger in internal diameter than the remaining inner part of the bore of the receptacle, providing a shoulder on Which the peripheral flange of the plug rests with its skirt extending slightly into the inner part of the receptacle. The skirt acts as a spacer to keep the slug away from the outer end and during the moulding-on of the end cap.

The domed end of the plug reaches substantially to the plane of the open end of the receptacle. When the end cap is moulded on, any space between the outer surface of the plug and the end of the receptacle is filled with end-cap moulding material. The domed shape of the plug tends to be flattened under injection pressure causing the plug to expand and fit tightly the open-end of the receptacle which is supported during the moulding operation by the die. This prevents moulding material from entering the interior of the receptacle. The end cap is bonded to all the surfaces of the plug and receptacle with which it is in contact and which contain it during moulding so that the receptacle is most effectively sealed.

Instead of paraflin wax any other suitable material in the form of a gel for example having the thermal and other properties specified may be used for the charge. The receptacle, plug and. end cap may be made from any other synthetic resin, compatible with the charge, capable of being moulded and of withstanding boiling in water.

Externally the receptacle may be longitudinally ribbed and formed with a bead at each end to assist in locating a hair retaining clip of usual part-circular section embracing the cylindrical wall of the receptacle.

Brief description of the drawings One specific embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates an exploded view of a hair waving roller,

FIG. 2 illustrates a section on the longitudinal centre line of FIG. 1 with the parts assembled ready for sealing,

FIG. 3 illustrates a similar section to that of FIG. 2 after sealing has taken place and,

FIG. 4 is a section through one chamber of the moulding apparatus used for sealing the rollers.

Description of the preferred embodiments In FIG. 1 there is illustrated the parts of a hair roller comprising a cylindrical cartridge type receptacle 10 moulded from polypropylene, a pre-moulded paraflin wax slug 11 which forms the charge and a plug 12 which is also of moulded polypropylene. The receptacle 10 has one open end 16 and is provided with outwardly protruding bead 13 and over its outer surface there are longitudinally disposed rib members 14 which assist in locating a surrounding hair retaining clip (not shown).

From FIG. 2 it will be seen that the receptacle 10 has one end 15 closed. The other end 16 is initially open. It houses the plug 12, which is a snug fit in the open end and will be sealed in it at a later step in the process of manufacture. The receptacle 10 has a portion 17 adjacent the open end 16 which is of greater internal diameter than the remaining internal diameter and this portion 17 terminates within the receptacle at an annular shoulder 18 which forms a seat for the plug 12. The plug 12 comprises a short tubular skirt 21 extending from a domed end portion 20. The convex side of the domed portion forms the outer face of the plug 12 and this face projects slightly beyond the tubular skirt 21 to provide a peripheral flange 22. The flange 22 projects radially from the skirt portion and that face of the flange which meets the tubular skirt portion provides a flat surface which will abut the shoulder 18 when the parts are assembled. The skirt 21 which is of slightly smaller diameter than the internal diameter of the receptacle 10 serves to locate the plug 12 within the end 16 of the receptacle and to provide a spacer for the wax slug 11 when the parts are assembled.

3 When the plug 12 is abutting the shoulder 18 the dimensions are such that a space 35 remains between the domed end 20 of the plug 12 and the end 16 of the receptacle 10. Into this space a sealing end cap will be moulded so as to become an integral part of the receptacle.

The aforementioned parts which are all produced separately in a first step of manufacture by known methods are assembled together in what might be termed the second step of the process as illustrated in FIG. 2. From this figure it will be seen that although the charge 11 and the plug 20 has been inserted through the open end 16 of the receptacle it has yet to be sealed with an end cap of synthetic resin.

In the third and final step of the process, a plurality of receptacles 10 together with their wax slugs 11 and plugs 12 in the assembled form shown in FIG. 2, are placed one in each chamber 25 of a multi-chambered magazine 23 which forms part of a pressure injection moulding jig 24, only a fragment of which is illustrated in FIG. 4. The magazine 23 which has a number of identical spaced chambers 25 disposed on a common pitch circle is in the form of an interchangeable ring member 23 which is peripherally mounted over a block 28. A shoulder 40 on the internal diameter of the magazine abuts a corresponding part of the block 28 and a base plate 41 provides a second abutment face for the magazine. Each receptacle 10 is placed in a chamber 25 with its plugged end 16 protruding a short way from one end thereof. When all the chambers 25 have been loaded with receptacles 10 which require sealing, a pressure head 26 housing dies 27 is clamped in sealing engagement to the block 28 in a manner such that each die 27 is co-incident with each of the chambers 25 in the magazine 23. The arrangement is such that a recessed part 29 formed in one face of the die 27 encloses the plugged end of the receptacle 10 but a small gap 30 remains between the end 13 of the receptacle 10 and the bottom of the recess 29 in the die. Each die 27 which is movable within the pressure head 26 is provided with an adjusting screw 39. The pressure head 26 is provided with a heated injection nozzle 31 which feeds a divergent duct 37. Branching off at right angles from one end of this duct there are grooves 33, one for each die 27, formed in the inner face of the pressure head 26. When the pressure head 26 is clamped to the end face 36 of the block 28 each groove 33 forms a channel which leads into a much finer aperture 34 in the wall of the die 27 which in turn communicates with the gap 30 and hence the space 35 in the end of the receptacle 10.

At the moment of sealing hot plastic pol ropylene is injected under pressure through the heated nozzle 31, duct 37, groove 33, and apertures 34 into the space 35 where it fuses with the material of the plug 12 and receptacle 10 in the Vicinity of the flange 13, to form an integral sealing end cap 38 as illustrated in FIG. 3. After cooling the magazine 23 containing the sealed receptacles forming the completed rollers can be removed from the jig 24 and the process repeated.

In practice other forms of plug may be used which may for example, be provided with a cup shaped extension onthe underside of the domed portion so that different deformation characteristics result under pressure.

I claim:

1. A process of manufacturing a hair waving roller which consists of a cylindrical receptacle made from synthetic resin and containing a charge of heat storing substance, the steps of the method involving pie-moulding the receptacle so that one end remains open, pre-moulding a separate plugging means of a synthetic resin suitable for plugging the open end of the receptacle and pre-moulding a charge of solidified material, inserting the charge through the open end of the receptacle, inserting the plugging means in the open end of the receptacle thereby separating the charge from the open end of the receptacle, sealing the receptacle by moulding an end cap of synthetic resin over the plugged end of the receptacle so that the end cap becomes an integral part of the receptacle.

2. A process of manufacturing a hair waving roller according to claim 1 in which the receptacle, the plugging means and the end cap are of the same material.

3. A process of manufacturing a hair waving roller according to claim 1 in which the receptacle, the plugging means and the end cap are made from polypropylene.

4. A hair waving roller comprising a cylindrical receptacle of synthetic resin containing a charge of a heat storing substance and means to seal the charge within the receptacle, said means comprising a plug of synthetic resin housed within the receptacle adjacent one end thereof and an end cap of synthetic resin moulded over the end housing the plug so that the plug and adjacent parts of the receptacle are fused together to form an integral part of the receptacle.

5. A hair waving roller according to claim 4 wherein the plugging means has a tubular skirt dimensioned to fit inside the open mouth of the receptacle.

6. A hair waving roller according to claim 5 wherein the plugging means has an outer end surface projecting beyond the skirt as a peripheral flange and the receptacle having at its open end an enlargement capable of receiving the peripheral flange and forming a shoulder which the skirt, but not the peripheral flange, can pass.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,076,521 4/1937 List 132-33 2,646,053 7/ 1953 Harris 132-41 3,228,403 1/ 1966 Pasternack 13236.2 3,358,062 12/1967 Lemelson 264-96 3,410,985 11/1968 Giacchero 2l9222 ANTONIO F. GUIDA, Primary Examiner G. E. McNEILL, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. Z64263 

